Herbs Past and Present by Charles Garcia
Fennel
The Spanish padres who brought it to California called it Hinojo. Kids call it Licorice weed. The locals of Marin County call it Anise. (A similar tasting plant, but certainly not found in Marin County.) While carefully harvesting the seeds along the hillside that abuts San Quentin Village and the State Prison of the same name, I call it Fennel. I call it other things also, which are unprintable in a family newspaper, for I must harvest as far away from the freeway as possible, stumbling through blackberry vines, while praying that some off duty Correctional Officer doesn’t take a pot shot at me. All this for my herbal students.
Fennel is believed to have originated in ancient Greece, where it grew on the hills of Marathon, near the city of Marathon, where naked young men would run in marathons. The Greeks called the plant…you guessed it…marathon. Which just goes to show you how original the Greeks really were.
The Puritans called them Meeting Seeds, chewing them to quiet their rumbling tummies during all those interminable church services – or, as some say, to hide the smell of the hard cider our forefathers nipped at on the way to church on cold New England mornings. Today fennel is best known as a cooking spice, but this versatile herb also has a long history of therapeutic use as an herbal tea.
The great English herbalist, spy, and astrologer, Nicholas Culpepper (1616 –1654), wrote the following (in the common vernacular of the time, for which he was greatly criticized):
“Fennel is good to break wind, to provoke urine, and ease the pains of the stone, and helps to break it. The leaves or seed, boiled in barley water and drank are good for nurses, to increase their milk, and make it more wholesome for the child. The leaves, or rather the seeds, boiled in water, stays the hiccough, and takes away the loathings, which oftentimes happen to the stomachs of sick and feverish persons, and allays the heat thereof. The seed boiled in wine and drunk, is good for those that are bitten with serpents, or have eaten poisonous herbs, or mushrooms. The seed and the roots much more, help to open obstructions of the liver, spleen, and gall, and thereby help the painful and windy swellings of the spleen, and the yellow jaundice; as also the gout and cramps. The seed is of good use in medicines to help shortness of breath and wheezing.”
In short, the good Culpepper considered fennel a cure-all. Culpepper also claimed to have seen a leek sprout from the ground fully grown from the discarded antlers of a ram. And for many New Age herbalists who devotedly believe in astrology, his work on signs of the Zodiac for plants is still the final word on the subject.
Amazingly, with the exception of his belief that fennel is a good antidote to poisons (it isn’t), much of his research is still valid. Fennel is a proven anti-spasmodic for the lower intestines, will aid in passing stones (though not recommended without herbal consultation and physician approval), does increase lactation in nursing mothers, will increase urination and decrease inflammation of the urinary tract, and finally, will help in minor conditions of the spleen and liver.
In my own practice, I have used a mild decoction for colic and to increase and improve lactation with first time mothers with good results.
Fennel “seeds” (actually tiny fruits) have traditionally been chewed to help dispel hunger pains during fasts (as well as long sermons). Fennel is also a popular flavoring in many beverages and foods, because of its strong licorice taste. One constituent of fennel’s volatile oil is “anethole,” which may be responsible for its reputation as a digestive aid. Anethole assists in the metabolism of fats and aids a thorough digestion. Research has recently verified that anethole reduces the ill effects of alcohol on the body, making fennel a reasonable treatment for providing short term relief for our present century’s most common poisonous state, the hangover.
But I wasn’t trespassing on state prison property for any of those remedies. I was collecting fennel to teach my students how to make a decent and gentle cough syrup. At this time of year, the fennel seeds that have not fallen from the stalk have gone dry. The protected plants untouched by the afternoon sun still had seeds hanging from rapidly drying blossoms. I picked these seeds one by one until I had about an ounce and half. My hands smelled like Smith Brother’s cough drops by the time I was done.
Racing home, feeling like an escapee from the Big House, I tossed the seeds into a pot with four cups of water with a handful of fresh mint leaves and five or six sticks of cinnamon. I allow this to simmer down to one third its original volume. I then add three cups of dark honey. It is important not to overheat the honey, as it will foam and burn very easily. After an hour and a half I strained the fennel and mint. Carefully stirring with a wooden spoon, I increased the heat for another ten minutes and then filled several small bottles as samples for my students.
The syrup should be kept in bottles with corks or rubber rimmed lids to allow the gas to escape in the event of accidental fermentation. A tightly sealed bottle might explode. To avoid fermentation the syrups can be kept in the fridge.
A fennel based syrup will ease most simple coughs without causing drowsiness. It can be taken by children, the elderly, and anyone who may react unfavorably to over-the-counter-medications. Though not effective against deep bronchial coughs and conditions, it will ease the discomfort of those deep coughs until a more potent medicine can be found.
So, from an ancient hillside in Greece to a prison hillside in California, the history of fennel covers two millennia, numerous ailments, and the throats of my students.
As in all things, moderation and knowledge is suggested in the use of herbal remedies. Please contact an herbalist or knowledgeable physician concerning herbal treatments.
